A government decree which it made practically impossible to register new trucks above 10.5 tonnes this year – to protect smaller transporters – resulted in truck sales falling 33% from 2,365 to 1,583 units in the first half of 2013.

But the general slowing of the country’s economy also cooled the overall new vehicle market by 8.4% year on year down to 137,565.

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According to Runt (the national automotive registry), almost all segments fell: passenger cars by 14% (from 78,795 to 58,650); pickup trucks by 36.6% (10,457 to 6,630); taxis by 18.45% (8,032 to 6,550); and buses by 22.72% (3,833 to 2,962).

Curiously, SUV sales rose 7.47% (20,315 to 27,778) due to a new ‘small’ segment (models like the Renault Duster and Chevrolet Tracker) and a shift in demand from passenger cars to more rugged vehicles with no big difference in price.

The top 10 by brand admitted a newcomer: China’s JAC which entered Colombia around eight years ago with trucks but more recently launched passenger cars, SUVs and pickup trucks.

Colombian automotive market
(vehicles sales – first half 2013)

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2012

%

2013

%

Variation

Chevrolet

42,688

28.4%

37,900

27.6%

-11.2%

Renault

20,288

13.5%

19,230

14.0%

-5.2%

Kia

12,840

8.6%

12,890

9.4%

0.4%

Hyundai

14,232

9.5%

11,516

8.4%

-19.1%

Nissan

12,034

8.0%

9,364

6.8%

-22.2%

Ford

4,569

3.0%

7,233

5.3%

58.3%

Toyota

6,453

4.3%

6,635

4.8%

2.8%

Mazda

4,939

3.3%

4,129

3.0%

-16.4%

Jac

1,688

1.1%

1,967

1.4%

16.5%

MKT

150,149

100.0%

137,565

100.0%

-8.4%

Premium brands are still growing (25.6%) from 3,190 to 3,906 units in the first half.

Mercedes Benz overtook BMW for the first time in eight years and now leads its segment. The main reason: three new vehicle launches in the past 12 months (A-, C- and E-Class) while the rival from Munich launched only the 3 Series.

Colombian automotive market
(premium segment sales – first half 2013)

Brand

2012

%

2013

%

Variation

Mercedes Benz

801

25.8%

1,122

28.7%

40.1%

BMW

1,039

33.4%

1,080

27.6%

3.9%

Audi

536

17.2%

982

25.1%

83.2%

Volvo

295

9.5%

245

6.3%

-16.9%

Mini

214

6.9%

230

5.9%

7.5%

Land Rover

150

4.8%

176

4.5%

17.3%

Porsche

71

2.3%

69

1.8%

-2.8%

Jaguar

3

0.1%

2

0.1%

-33.3%

Total

3,109

100.0%

3,906

100.0%

25.6%

The city of Bogotá is still the strongest new vehicle market in Colombia with 37.6% of first half registrations. It was followed by Cali (7.44%), Barranquilla (4.1%), Bucaramanga (2.9%) and Medellín (3.17%).

The most recent new model launches were the Nissan Note and Sentra, Chevrolet Sail Co, Ram 1500, Peugeot RCZ and Mini Paceman.

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